Renault’s official team in Formula 1 – currently known as the Renault DP World F1 Team – will have a new name in 2021: the Alpine F1 Team. The new name is taken from one of the brands in the Renault group which has a history going back to 1955.
The Alpine brand will be designated to the chassis and pay tribute to the expertise that gave birth to the A110 which went on sale in 2017. Alpine’s involvement in F1 will be a key step to accelerate the development and influence of the brand. The team’s engine will continue to benefit from the Group’s expertise in hybrid powertrains and its E-Tech name will be retained.
The brand’s team is currently known as the Renault DP World F1 Team. DP World is a logistics company which is a leading sponsor of the team.
The new name has been announced after Renault joined other F1 teams in signing the new Concorde agreements that cap budgets and will see the implementation of new technical regulations from 2022.
Alpine is currently active in the World Endurance Championship.The new F1 team will have Fernando Alonso and is expected to have colours reminiscent of the blue and yellow on the R.S.25 F1 cars.
“This change comes at a key moment in the trajectory of the team and the sport. Alpine brings a new meaning, new values and colours to the paddock with the spirit of competition from other worlds and French creative agility. These will be assets in the preparation of 2022 deadlines,” said Renault’s Team Principal Cyril Abiteboul.
“The new regulatory and financial framework will establish the conditions for a fairer motorsport in its redistribution of revenues; simpler and progressive in its governance. The implementation of the ‘budget cap’ will put an end to the expense race and will allow the signatory teams to be measured for their sporting value. Alpine has its place in Formula 1 and can challenge for victory,” he added.
A110 is currently the only model produced by Alpine.
Sportscar specialist
65 years old this year, Alpine was an independent carmaker in France, specialising in sportscar and also a regular participant in motorsports. Its independence ended when it was acquired by Renault in 1973, a move necessitated by difficulties faced during the first energy crisis period.
Although the rescue by Renault enabled it to continue producing cars, Renault management took the decision to stop using the brand name in 1995. There were hints that the name would be revived in 2007 but the financial crisis of that period forced Renault to postpone the plan. It was only 5 years later that the revival of Alpine was finally underway and it would become a sportscar brand within the Group.
♦ McLaren’s Carlos Sainz Jr. didn’t get to race as exhaust failure while driving for the grid line-up forced him to instead return to the pits just before the start.
♦ Rain was headed towards the circuit but the start of the race was in dry conditions.
♦ The first crash took place during lap 11, bringing out the Safety Car. Giovinazzi’s Alfa Romeo was starting to spin and Russell (Williams) tried to avoid him but could not and crashed into the wall, with Giovanazzi doing the same a second later.
♦ Pierre Gasly and Sergio Perez chose not to head for the pits to get fresh tyres while the rest of the cars came in while the Mercedes-AMG Safety Car was out for about 3 laps. Gasly would only bring his Scuderia Alphatauri Honda in on the 27th lap, the last driver to do so.
♦ Charles Leclerc was required to meet the Stewards after the race as he was seen to be ‘driving unnecessarily slowly’ during the reconnaissance lap.
♦ At the halfway mark, Lewis Hamilton had a 3-second lead over team mater Valtteri Bottas, and was about 7.5 seconds ahead of Max Verstappen. The top three were essentially on their own as the gap after the Dutch Red Bull driver was about 16 seconds to Daniel Ricciardo.
♦ On lap 28, Hamilton’s car was spotted having a damaged wing and at the same time, the team sent a message to Bottas which suggested he was to push as hard as he could.At that point, Hamilton was still 3.7 seconds ahead.
♦ In the last few laps of the race, Hamilton expressed concerns about the front tyres, fearing a repeat of Silverstone – which wasn’t good at a track with such a long lap. But he managed the tyres as best as he could and crossed the finish line for his fourth win at Spa.
Race starts at 3:10 pm in Belgium/9:10 pm in Malaysia
After one weekend break, the 2020 Formula 1 World Championship begins its second three-in-a-row rounds with Round 7 at the historical Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps for the Belgium Grand Prix. The event is the 65th F1 World Championship round hosted by Belgium and is one of the original races from the 1950s season. However, the F1 races were not always held at Spa-Francorchamps and on 11 occasions, they were held at two other circuits.
The 7-km track with 19 turns is therefore familiar to the drivers and teams, with its outstanding features and characteristics leading to some interesting set-up decisions. The two long full-throttle sections of the first and third sectors require low drag – but the longer intricate middle sector, where much of the lap time is made or lost, makes for a complicated choice of downforce levels. If too high, the car cannot attack or defend on the long straights; too low and too much time is lost in the middle of the lap. Each team will therefore have different strategies and it is always interesting see which one proves suitable.
Spa-Francorchamps is F1’s longest track with a lap distance of 7.004 kilometres. This tops the second circuit on the list, Baku (6.003 kms), by just over one kilometre. Because of its long lap distance, the Belgium GP has the lowest number of race laps in F1 with only 44 – making for a race distance of 308.05 kms. Also at this track, the drivers experience up to 5.2g (at Turn 10), which is the highest lateral g-force of the season.
Longest lap, few gear changes
Interestingly, despite having the longest lap in F1, the drivers only change gear 38 times for each circulation of Spa, one of the lowest figures in F1. This is particularly low when compared to the busy laps of Monaco where drivers will change gears around 50 times per lap – and that street track is less than half the length of Spa.
The main reason for the relatively low number of gear changes per lap is that a large portion of the lap at Spa is covered in top gear. Additionally, most of the corners that require gear changes come in groups – for example, Turn 5 to Turn 7. Over the length of the entire 7.004 kilometres of lap distance, there are only 6 sets of gear changes required.
Prompted by a 2019 race in which no driver used the C1 tyre and seven of the ten points-scoring cars ran a one-stop strategy, Pirelli has brought a compound one notch down for this weekend’s racing, with the C2, C3 and C4 available to the teams.
Fresh engines installed
Another potential factor at this race is the use of fresh engines. The announcement of an extended calendar earlier this week takes the projected number of races up to 17 (originally 22) which is above the threshold that allowed competitors to use a third ICE, TC or MGU-H. Spa has traditionally been a race where teams install a new power unit anyway, and so this weekend may see a slight shift in running, especially in the ultra-tight midfield.
The championship positions
Lewis Hamilton continues to enjoy a commanding lead at the top of the Driver’ Championship table with 132 points. Behind him is Red Bull’s Max Verstappen who has 95 points after having taken 5 5 consecutive podium finishes. He is ahead of Valtteri Bottas who started the season well but now finds himself slipping and has so far collected only 89 points.
Once again, Mercedes-AMG is in a strong leading position in the Constructors’ Championship with 221 points. That’s 86 points ahead of Red Bull Racing. The teams to watch are Racing Point, McLaren and Ferrari: Racing Point has 63 points, just one point ahead of McLaren and two ahead of Ferrari.
Past winners
Michael Schumacher has had the most number of wins at the Belgium GP -2 with Benetton and 4 with Ferrari. The Ferrari team has had the most victories, 18 in all, which is 4 ahead of McLaren.
The 2020 Formula 1 World Championship, disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic just as the opening round was to take place in Australia in March, will end the season with a toral of 17 races. Following the announcements regarding the initial thirteen races of the revised 2020 calendar, 4 additional races have been confirmed which will take place in the months of November and December.
While it was already expected that Bahrain and Abu Dhabi will host the last rounds (the former running two races), a newcomer is Turkey which will have the Formula 1 DHL Turkish Grand Prix 2020. The race will be held at the Istanbul Park Circuit which was opened in 2005 when the first Turkish F1 GP was held. The venue was included on the F1 calendar up to 2011 and then left out over the past 8 years.
The Intercity Istanbul Park Circuit last had a F1 race in 2011.
Familiar circuit to top drivers
The circuit, also designed by Hermann Tilke, the F1 track specialist, has a length of 5.34 kms and 14 turns. Past races have been run for 58 laps with the lap record still held by of 1:24.770 still held by Juan Pablo Montoya when he was driving a McLaren in 2005. Drivers like Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel would be familiar with the circuit as they have raced and won there before.
“We can confirm that a number of races in the revised 2020 season will be open to a limited number of fans, including hospitality, and we are working with each promoter to finalise the details. While we want to see as many fans as possible return as soon as it is safe to do so, our priority remains the safety of the Formula 1 community and the communities we visit, and we review fan access on this basis,” said Chase Carey, Chairman & CEO of the Formula 1 organisation.
Strict SOPs still applied
This means that the races will continue to be held without spectators and with a minimum number of participants allowed into the circuit. So far, the strict measures taken have ensured that there are no COVID-19 infections spreading and when the health authorities are more comfortable with the situation, perhaps there will be an opportunity for spectators in the stands.
“Sadly, we will not be racing in China this season and want to thank our partner Juss Sports for their support and engagement in recent months and hugely look forward to returning to Shanghai next year,” Carey said.
♦ A spin in Turn 1 for Sebastian Vettel saw the 4-time World Champion drop from 11th to last in the pack as the cars headed away.
♦ After 10 laps, tyre issues began to start as temperatures rose and the cars came in for tyre changes. Carlos Sainz and Sebastian Vettel stayed out up to 23 laps but Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen chose to hang for 27 laps before pitting and giving up his leading position momentarily.
♦ Tyre management became increasingly critical for the two Mercedes-AMG cars as the hard compounds blistered.
♦ With 15 laps to go, Hamilton captured the lead but was very concerned about his tyre condition and the blistering.
♦ Understanding that the Mercedes-AMG driver could only do so much with his well worn tyres, Verstappen was told to put the pressure on and close the gap which was about 11 seconds.
♦ With 10 laps to go, Hamilton came in to get fresh tyres and Verstappen took over the lead, with Bottas 4 seconds behind. Charging confidently ahead and setting a new lap record, he got past Charles Leclerc and closed in on Bottas.
♦ In the closing laps, Hamilton got past his team mate but ran out of time to close in on Verstappen who was 9 seconds ahead.
♦ The win today at Silverstone makes it 9 for the Red Bull Racing DutchmanThe 25 points don’t advance his position in the standings but narrow the gap with Bottas.
Race starts at 2:10 pm British time/9:10 pm Malaysian time
Following the British Grand Prix a week ago, F1 extends its stay at Silverstone this weekend with Round 5 of the 2020 FIA Formula One World Championship – the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix. The event has been named in celebration of the inaugural World Championship, the first event of which was the British (and honorary European) Grand Prix which took place at Silverstone on May 13th, 1950.
The circuit is noted for its fast, flowing corners but the intricacies of the lower-speed ‘Arena’ section between Abbey and the Wellington Straight are often where time is to be gained or lost. Silverstone is a difficult circuit on which to overtake and qualifying position is frequently paramount: thus, these sections receive just as much attention in set-up discussions as the famed high-speed turns at Copse, Stowe and the Maggotts-Becketts-Chapel complex.
Whereas last weekend’s British Grand Prix used the three hardest compounds in Pirelli’s range, a change in allocation this weekend alters the complexion of the race. For the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix, the allocation moves a step softer with C2, C3 and C4 tyres available.
While every team converged on a one-stop strategy last Sunday, the use of softer tyres on a fast, high-energy circuit makes a similar plan inherently risky this weekend. With a two-stop race more likely, greater strategic options come into play on the fast Silverstone layout.
“This weekend at Silverstone will be a real challenge with higher temperatures and softer compounds. The hotter conditions brought the field closer together last week and the softer tyres will mean more pit stops and more variability with strategy, so we can expect a good fight,” said Toto Wolff, Mercedes-AMG team boss.
After 4 rounds, Mercedes-AMG driver Lewis Hamilton already has a commanding lead of 30 points in the race for the Drivers’ Championship. His closest rival is team-mate Valtteri Bottas, with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen a further 6 points back.
With the contribution made by Hamilton’s victories, the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS team has an equally daunting advantage in the Constructors’ Championship table, enjoying a 68-point lead. The controversy over the brake ducts on the BWT Racing Point car, which were the subject of a protect by the Renault team, reached a conclusion yesterday as the FIA decided to deduct 15 championship points from the team’s current standing. They have also been fined €400,000 (about RM1.97 million).
BWT Racing Point will be appealing but Ferrari, McLaren and Renault have also issued statement that declare an intention to appeal against that decision. There are other issues which have come to light which the teams now want the FIA to clarify.
*: BWT Racing Point had a 15-point deduction for a technical issue.
♦ Nico Hulkenberg, replacing Sergio Perez who tested positive for COVID-19 and had to self-isolate, had a bad day. Just before the race was due to start, the pink BWT Racing Point car could not start and the Power Unit could not be fixed in time, he dropped out. He had performed well in qualifying and other drivers were impressed, looking forward to a challenge from him during the race.
♦ Scuderia Alpha Tauri’s Daniil Kvyat was dropped 5 places on the grid as his team decided to change the gearbox. He was relocating to the back alongside George Russell who also had a 5-place penalty for ignoring yellow flags during qualifying.
♦ The Safety Car got to work very early – even before the first lap was completed – when Alexander Albon’s car came into contact with Kevin Magnussen and the Haas F1 driver went off into the gravel. The Safety Car was out for 5 laps to manage the racers while Magnussen’s car was removed. Albon would later be given a 5-second penalty for the incident.
♦ Lap 12 saw the Safety Car coming out again after Daniil Kvyat went off the track when his car had suspension failure and hit the barrier heavily.
♦ At the halfway point in the 52-lap race, Lewis Hamilton was 2.3 seconds ahead of Valtteri Bottas who would be a buffer with Max Verstapen as he tried to close the 5-second gap further. After the Red Bull Racing driver, there was a 10-second gap to Charles Leclerc.
♦ In the closing laps, the drivers struggled with heavily worn tyres and Bottas fell to 11th after a puncture, while Kimi Raikkonen spun off – probably due to the tyres too.
♦ A puncture at the end didn’t stop Lewis Hamilton from winning the race ahead of a determined Verstappen who clocked the fastest lap of the day. With the victory at Silverstone – his seventh at the British GP – he has won more races at his home circuit that any other driver.
As in Austria and Hungary, there were no spectators watching from the stands due to strict conditions set by the organisers and authorities.Bad luck for BWT Racing Point’s Nico Hulkenberg who had engine problems just as the race was about to start so he had to drop out. But at least the team ended the day with another 2 points from Lance Stroll’s 9th placing.It wasn’t Daniil Kvyat’s day – not only did he have to start from the back due to a gearbox-change penalty but he crashed on the 12th lap due to suspension failure.Charles Leclerc continued to collect points for Ferrari with another podium finish.After his collision with Kevin Magnussen, Alexander Albon was given a 5-second penalty.
Another three races have been added to the revised calendar for the 2020 Formula 1 World Championship, bringing the total number of confirmed rounds in the calendar to 13. The venues are still in Europe – Nurburgring in Germany, Algarve in Portugal and Imola in Italy and will take place between October 11 and November 1.
F1 returns to Portugal
While the Nurburgring circuit is a familiar venue, the round in Portugal will be the first time the country is hosting a F1 round since 1996. It will be at the 4.65-km long circuit in Portimao located in the Algarve region of southern Portugal.
The Imola Circuit in Italy.
A week following the event in Portugal, the next round will be at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari in Imola, Italy. The 4.9-km track has a history going back to 1953 but is remembered for being the track where Ayrton Senna lost his life in 1994. In fact, Senna was not the only one to die at that event – the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix – as Austrian driver Roland Ratzenberger sustained fatal skull damage after crashing into a wall at 310 km/h.
So far, three rounds have been run, two at the Red Bull Ring in Austria and one at the Hungaroring in Hungary. Two rounds will be run at Silverstone in the UK, the first scheduled for this weekend and a second round the week after.
Can 18 rounds before 2020 ends?
The Formula 1 organization has been hoping to run up to 18 rounds before the end of the year. With the two final ones to be held in the Middle East Gulf region in mid-December and 13 already confirmed, that leaves another three more slots over about 6 weeks.
Races in Asia
The Americas are out due to the severe pandemic conditions so the only other region is Asia. Vietnam, which was to have had its first-ever F1 event may be keen and able to host a round since it has had a ‘clean record’ where the pandemic is concerned.
Will we see a round of F1 at Sepang?
There are also rumours that the Sepang Circuit in Malaysia may host a round but it would depend very much on the situation. Right now, there is concern about the trend in new COVID-19 cases so the government would be unwilling to make any commitments just yet. The Sepang International Circuit is F1-ready as it used to host a round each year between 1999 and 2017.
♦ 25 minutes before the race was to start, Max Verstappen slid into a barrier at the tricky Turn 12! The RB16’s nose cone and front wing were damaged and he rushed back to the pits for repairs, which were completed in time for the race start.
♦ As the track seemed to be drying out after earlier rain, the two Haas cars rushed to their pits as the race started to switch to medium tyres. It was the right move as they would move up to fourth and fifth places by the seventh lap.
♦ On lap 4, Verstappen (who had started from seventh on the grid) took the lead from Lewis Hamilton who had come into the pits to switch to slicks. But it was only a 1-lap lead as he too had to pit to get off the intermediate tyres and Hamilton slotted back to the front.
♦ Bad luck for Williams’ Nicholas Latifi who spun in the first turn and then had a puncture a few laps later, forcing him to limp back to the pits. And after replacing the tyre, his release from the pits was considered unsafe by the Stewards and he got a 5-second penalty.
♦ If it wasn’t already bad enough that Kimi Raikkonen qualified in last position on the starting grid, he would be slapped with a 7-second penalty for his car being out of position on the grid.
♦ Pierre Gasly got a new Honda unit for his car but wasn’t penalised as he is still within his limit for the season. However, by lap 16, he had to pull out of the race as the engine started smoking. During practice, he had reported a burning smell which was why the engine was replaced.
♦ Charles Leclerc was the last to get off the soft tyres he had started with when it seemed like the rain expected by lap 23 might not arrive. He went on hard tyres which he hoped would take his Ferrari to the end.
♦ Sebastian Vettel, wanting to move ahead as much as possible, pitted on lap 30 to change to hard tyres. It was a risky move with most forecasters saying rain was due within the next few laps.
Tyre changes were required a few times during the race as the weather alternated between dry and possible rain and then no rain.
♦ The first drops of rain came down at the halfway point of the race (35 laps). By then, Hamilton was comfortably ahead with a 20-second lead. Behind him was Verstappen and then Valtteri Bottas 5 seconds away.
♦ 20 laps before the end, Bottas came in for a change to hard tyres to give him more speed in the duel with Verstappen.
♦ 5 laps from the end, the Mercedes-AMG team debated whether to switch Hamilton’s tyres to hard but the driver wanted softs. His choice was followed and when he rejoined the race, he had 3 laps to go for a fastest lap as he headed to the finish line. He did that and was in line to collect the extra virtual point.
♦ Today’s win puts Hamilton equal with Michael Schumacher of having the most wins at a race. It is eighth win in Hungary, and the third year in a row.
Sebastian Vettel finished 6th to collect 8 points for Ferrari but Leclerc managed only 11th. Not exactly a great race for the team again.Despite crashing even before the raced started, Max Verstappen finished the race in second place, 8 seconds behind Hamilton.
Pierre Gasly had engine problems all week and, during the race, had to retire when smoke started to come out of the engine.
A bad day for Nicholas Latifi with two spins and a 5-second penalty as well. When the race ended, he was 5 laps behind Hamilton.
Race starts at 3:10 pm in Hungary/9:10 pm in Malaysia
After two weekends at the Red Bull Ring in Austria, the F1 teams travelled 420 kms to the next venue on the calendar, Hungaroring in Hungary. The 2020 Hungarian Grand Prix (which has the official event title of 2020 Formula 1 Aramco Magyar Nagydij) is the third round of the championship.
The authorities are very strict on the conditions of allowing the race to be run. These include staying within the circuit or at their respective hotels and not socialising; breaking the rules can result in a fine of 15,000 euros (about RM73,000) and/or jail time. Both Ferrari drivers were reported to have broken the rules and the team boss has warned them that they cannot be irresponsible and jeopardise the team.
A regular venue
The circuit is a familiar one to the drivers, having been used over the past 34 years. As such, they will be prepared for the hot and dusty environment, more so with the pandemic-related lockdowns further keeping the circuit unused. The air and track temperatures experienced at the Hungarian Grand Prix are typically some of the highest of the season, with an average air temperature of 30°C and average track temperature of 49°C.
The current Hungaroring circuit uses the third layout since 1986 and has 14 turns. Running around a valley, it is twisty and bumpy, giving a ‘street circuit’ feel like that of Monaco. Rain can add to the challenges and it has during practice sessions this week. With the revised 2020 schedule and the circuit’s relentless run of corners, the Hungaroring looks set to be the highest downforce track on the calendar.
Constant cornering
Because of the track’s high-downforce nature, its maximum speed – 318 km/h – is one of the lowest in F1. The cars only spend around 10 seconds going in a straight line during a 4.4-km lap, with the remaining 65 seconds or so spent cornering. As such, the Hungaroring is known for its constant cornering.
Despite the Hungaroring having one of the shortest start/finish straights, the track has the fifth-longest run to Turn 1 from pole position – due to the grid being positioned very close to the exit of the final corner.
The circuit is one of the toughest for brake cooling, in part due to the lack of straights, often made worse by cars being stuck in traffic. Just 65% of the lap distance at the Hungaroring is taken at full throttle, one of the lowest figures in F1.
The average lateral g-force experienced during the course of the lap is one of the highest in F1, due to the grip levels from the new tarmac, long corners, lack of straights and high downforce levels. Drivers report that the kerbs are some of the most severe in F1 for the cars. The spacing, height and speed at which drivers go over kerbs are all important factors. While the kerbs in Hungary are harsh, they are generally taken at slower speeds than in Red Bull Ring.
The track features many long corners, some of which are 180 degrees or more, which impacts the suspension set-up. The majority of corners in Hungary are taken in ‘steady state’, which is where the length of the corner allows the car to settle and stay in a rolled condition for a long period of time. A ‘transient state’ means the opposite and is seen in corners requiring quick changes of direction. For this weekend’s race, ‘steady state’ is more important and the suspension can be tuned to be better suited to this.
A place in F1 history
The 2009 Hungarian Grand Prix was the first race in F1 history to be won by a hybrid car. Back then, using the Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS) was optional and the opening races were won by cars with conventional engines. However, Mercedes-AMG had developed a hybrid system run by McLaren-Mercedes in 2009. So, when Lewis Hamilton won the event that year, it was the first ever victory for a hybrid Formula 1 car.
Hamilton has won the Hungarian Grand Prix 7 times, making it his joint-most successful track – shared with the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, Canada. Commenting on his experience this weekend during practices, Hamilton said: “This is such a great track to drive in the dry, but it’s very tricky in the wet and it felt quite low grip out there. It’s not such a power-dependent circuit. I’m hoping for a tighter pack, it’d be great to see the Renaults doing well, the McLarens are doing a fantastic job, as are the Racing Points, it’s really exciting to see. We also expect Red Bull to be strong, so I anticipate a tough battle with them.”
The championship so far
Valtteri Bottas is in top spot after two rounds with 43 points, 6 points ahead of Hamilton. Lando Norris is in third with 26 points while Charles Leclerc, in spite of the fiasco last Sunday, is in fourth with the 18 points collected for his win in the first round.
As for the Constructors Championship, the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team has already built up a 41-point lead ahead of McLaren. BWT Racing Point F1 Team is in fourth and will be closely watched as it tries to pass Red Bull Racing which is 5 points ahead.
